UConn football has officially added 64 new players to its roster after the transfer portal window closed. Head coach Jason Candle and his coaching staff have brought in 29 offensive players, 32 defensive players, and three special teamers. Among these additions, 21 players come from Power Four conferences, with the rest being transfers or early-enrollee freshmen.

Many of these names were already known or announced over the past few weeks. The quarterback position now includes Jake Merklinger, Kalieb Osborne, and Bo Polston. Most of the new players are coming from Toledo, but there are also contributions from schools such as Syracuse, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Northwestern, Iowa, Duke, Texas, NC State, Ohio State, USC, Michigan State, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. Some of the additions have also come from lower-level programs where they had notable performances.

Running Backs

The running back room has seen several high-potential additions. Trey Cornist, who ran for 470 yards at Central Michigan last season, joins the team. Dashun Reeder, who rushed for 222 yards on just 22 carries for Northwestern, is another addition. Cyncir Bowers, who totaled 365 yards from scrimmage for West Virginia, and Jaden Hart from Syracuse are also part of the group. Kenji Christian, a Toledo transfer, was one of the early commitments for UConn under Candle’s leadership.

Receivers

At the receiver position, UConn has a young group that will complement Shamar Porter, one of the Huskies’ key returning players. Cam Abshire, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Oklahoma State, had productive seasons at D-II Emory & Henry before joining the Cowboys. He caught 10 passes for 92 yards last season. Emmanuel Ross had similar production at Syracuse, while Ky “Flash” Wilson comes from Youngstown State via Slippery Rock. Logan Barnes, a three-star recruit from Indiana, played some quarterback in high school and excelled in basketball, baseball, and track.

Julian Allen, Javon Brown, Kamren Flowers, Zy’Marion Lang, Ryder Treadway, and Jediyah Willoughby are all former Toledo receivers moving to Storrs. Most of them have limited playing time due to younger players, but Treadway showed potential with 176 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman.

Tight Ends

Alex Godvaritine, a tight end from Division II Wheeling, caught five touchdowns as a senior. He is joined by Matt Ragan, a 6-foot-5 Massachusetts native transferring from Boston College.

Offensive Linemen

Nine offensive linemen have been added, including four from Toledo and three from Power Four programs. Hannes Hammer, who appeared in five games for Virginia Tech, Fred Johnson, who made two appearances for Louisville, and Christian Richter, who played in eight games for Marshall, are among the more experienced additions. Raphael Greene-Nyarko, who played five games for Toledo, and Ben Mulholland, who played 12 games for Houston Christian, round out the group.

Defensive Players

On defense, 12 new players are defensive backs, seven are linebackers, three are listed as EDGE, and 10 are linemen. Desmond Aladuge, a defensive tackle, made 11 appearances for Duke over the last two seasons. Chamberlain Campbell, Esean Carter, and Avery Dunn all played 11 or more games for Toledo last season. Campbell and Dunn are former Power Four transfers, while Carter was a Third Team All-MAC selection.

Melvin Hills and Joshua Mickens, both from top-tier programs, made a handful of appearances—Hills at Texas and Mickens at Ohio State. Andrew Laurich played in 10 games for Colorado State, and Anas Luqman played 13 games for Ohio. Two of the EDGE players are coming from high school, while Shamar Riser-Pressley, who appeared in 11 games for Buffalo, is another addition.

Linebackers

K’von Sherman, a First Team All-MAC selection at Toledo, and Rickey Williams, who made 13 appearances for Toledo, are among the new linebackers. John Lista, who made 78 tackles for Penn, and Luke Murphy from Coastal Carolina and Zakaih Saez from Oregon State, played healthy rotational roles before transferring to UConn.

Specialists

UConn has also added three specialists: Mike Baker, the backup kicker at Ole Miss; punter Tommy Warner, who comes from Northwest Missouri State; and long snapper David LaGanga, who transferred from Kentucky via Lehigh.